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Shearing students, ranchers flock to livestock advisor Harper
![John Harper gives sheep shearing pointers. Most of the sheep shearers currently working in California have graduated from his sheep shearing school, which started in 1993. John Harper gives sheep shearing pointers. Most of the sheep shearers currently working in California have graduated from his sheep shearing school, which started in 1993.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/ANRnewsreleases//blogfiles/107326small.jpg)
UCCE livestock advisor John Harper retires after 32 years "If you know how to shear, you'll never be poor," Stephany Wilkes remembers John Harper, University of California Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for Mendocino and Lake counties, telling her sheep shearing class in 2013. “He was speaking to everyone, of course, but he really spoke to me: being poor (again) is one of my greatest fears and I've avoided it at all costs,” Wilkes said. Harper's words and a certificate from the course gave her the confidence to leave Silicon Valley for greener pastures. “Eleven years later, with a successful business and published book about shearing to boot, I can confirm John does not lie to his students,” says the former software developer. “More than that, he is encouraging, calm, respectful, experienced, honest, funny and an excellent storyteller. If not for John, I would not have the life I live today.” Today, Wilkes is a...
West Side REC study: A cradle of California regenerative agriculture
![Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension cropping systems specialist at UC Davis, and Lauren Hale, USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist, examine soils in the project field at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points. Photo courtesy of Jeff Mitchell Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension cropping systems specialist at UC Davis, and Lauren Hale, USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist, examine soils in the project field at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points. Photo courtesy of Jeff Mitchell](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/food//blogfiles/107245small.jpg)
In 20-year study, UCCE specialist Mitchell, colleagues, growers advance no-till and cover cropping practices In the 1990s, long before “regenerative agriculture” was a buzzword and “soil health” became a cause célèbre, a young graduate student named Jeff Mitchell first learned about similar concepts during an agronomy meeting in the Deep South. Mitchell was astonished to hear a long list of benefits attributed to practices known internationally as “conservation agriculture” – eliminating or reducing tillage, cover cropping and preserving surface residues (the plant debris left after harvest). Potential positive impacts include decreasing dust in the air, saving farmers money on fuel and equipment maintenance, improving soil vitality and water dynamics and a host of other ecosystem services. “All of these things start adding up and you kind of scratch your head and say, ‘Well, maybe we ought to try some of...
Youth invited to Mustang Camp in Lassen County June 28-29
![At the 4-H Mustang Camp, youth learn about the feral horses and range management careers. Photo by Dennis Hinkamp At the 4-H Mustang Camp, youth learn about the feral horses and range management careers. Photo by Dennis Hinkamp](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/Communities//blogfiles/107220small.jpg)
UC Cooperative Extension in Modoc County is partnering with Utah State University to offer a mustang camp for California youth ages 9 to 19. The 4-H Mustang Camp, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, will be held on June 28-29. This overnight camp is an opportunity for youth across California to learn about managing public lands, rangelands, wild horses and burros. Mustangs are feral horses that roam freely. “We realize not everyone can take a wild horse home so we'll take the young people out on the range,” said event organizer Laura Snell, UC Cooperative Extension livestock and natural resources advisor for Modoc County. “Participants will learn about range management, the grasses, habitat, ecosystem and wild horses,” she said. Youth also will learn about careers with U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service related to wild horse management. Camp participants will spend the night at a campground...
Report: Wastewater recycling essential to resilient water future for LA region
![In a new report, Edith B. de Guzman and Gregory Pierce recommend actions to increase the amount and reliability of Los Angeles County’s recycled water supplies. In a new report, Edith B. de Guzman and Gregory Pierce recommend actions to increase the amount and reliability of Los Angeles County’s recycled water supplies.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green//blogfiles/107199small.png)
Wastewater recycling in Los Angeles is the focus of a new report released by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. The report, Making the Most of Landmark Recycled Water Investments in Los Angeles: Technical Advisory Recommendations for the Region, was commissioned by Los Angeles Waterkeeper. The goal of the report is to support ongoing efforts to improve local water security and rely less on expensive, energy-intensive and increasingly unreliable water imports from faraway places, like the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Colorado River. Experts involved in developing the report agree that expanding the use of recycled wastewater has emerged as a key, scalable water supply strategy that can offer certainty and reliability in the region in light of our new climate reality. “Both the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the City of LA's Department of Water and Power have made significant investments in...
Report: Cover crops benefits may outweigh water-use in California
![“Cover crops are a valuable soil health practice that can help ensure the resilience of California farms to climate extremes,” said Sarah Light, shown in a cover crop of bell bean, pea and vetch that will be replanted with a tomato crop. “Cover crops are a valuable soil health practice that can help ensure the resilience of California farms to climate extremes,” said Sarah Light, shown in a cover crop of bell bean, pea and vetch that will be replanted with a tomato crop.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/Green//blogfiles/107154small.jpg)
Additional guidance needed for groundwater management strategies Cover crops are planted to protect and improve the soil between annual crops such as tomatoes or between rows of tree and vine crops, but growers may be concerned about the water use of these plants that don't generate income. “Cover crops are one of the most popular practices we see farmers employ through our Healthy Soils Program,” said Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. “Cover crops supply a host of benefits, such as helping to protect against soil erosion, improving soil health, crowding out weeds, controlling pests and diseases, and increasing biodiversity; and they can bring increased profitability as the number of other inputs are reduced. They also provide water benefits such as improved infiltration and reduced runoff.” These potential benefits are especially salient in the San Joaquin Valley, where groundwater challenges are more acute....
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